"food ads" news and stories

For most of us, trying to recall our favorite TV commercial for a restaurant is kind of like trying to recall last night's dreams-a virtually indistinct sequence of half-remembered imagery: the stringy, cheesy uplift of a steaming slice of pizza, a slow pan shot along a foot-long sub, a sizzling fajita.

But the folks at Los Angeles-based Ace Metrix have figured out how to sort through this psycho-mess to determine which commercials are most effective, and they've just released their list of the top 20 restaurant ads of 2010, according to Nation's Restaurant News. (You can see all the commercials at the Ace Metrix site.) How do they do it?

I'm a sucker for TV commercials. I even think they should be put on TV DVDs, though I bet some people would hate that idea.

But it got me thinking about all of the great TV commercials we've had for food over the years. After the jump, eight classics. I'm not saying that these eight are the "best" (though some could be), but they're eight that I really enjoy.

I've always thought it was weird and creepy that food mascots tell you to eat the food that they are representing. Animated chickens tell you to eat chicken, Charlie The Tuna wants you to buy Starkist Tuna, and that annoying talking Mini-Wheats guy helps you with your spelling and wants you to eat him and his friends. Gah.

Suicide Food is a blog that keeps track of all these mascots, and the world of that sort of advertising in general. The site describes itself as "any depiction of animals that act as though they wish to be consumed. Suicide Food actively participates in or celebrates its own demise. Suicide Food identifies with the oppressor. Suicide Food is a bellwether of our decadent society. Suicide Food says, "Hey! Come on! Eating meat is without any ethical ramifications! See, Mr. Greenjeans? The animals aren't complaining! So what's your problem?" Suicide Food is not funny."

After a study, British researchers have concluded that food-related TV commercials make kids fat.

60 kids, aged 9 to 11, were studied, and researchers discovered several things. A child's weight influenced what they ate (wow, really?), obese kids consistently chose chocolate over healthier foods when given the choice (you don't say!), and all kids wanted to eat more after they saw TV commercials featuring sweets and other food.

Whenever I see a commercial for Viagra, I want to have sex.

On a related note, it's TV Turnoff Week!

The UK media regulator Ofcom has put forth four proposals for regulating and limiting the advertisements that can appear on children's programming. The group said that the general public felt that some action was necessary in this situation, facing a rise in obesity, and their proposals are designed to satisfy worried parents. Advertisements were found to have a "modest direct effect" on the food choices of children, though Ofcom's research indicated that other factors - including family trends and school policies - had a larger impact on their diets and waistlines. All four proposals deal with some combination of timing and content restrictions. Some reports indicate that the prime viewing time for children is between 6 and 9 pm, and restrictions in that period would clearly limit what adults are exposed to, as well.

The proposals will be discussed until June 6, at which point one may be put into effect.

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